Pages

Tuesday, 4 August 2015

Review: The Veil - Chloe Neill

Seven years ago, the Veil that separates humanity from what lies beyond was torn apart, and New Orleans was engulfed in a supernatural war. Now, those with paranormal powers have been confined in a walled community that humans call the District. Those who live there call it Devil's Isle.

Claire Connolly is a good girl with a dangerous secret: she’s a Sensitive, a human endowed with magic that seeped through the Veil. Claire knows that revealing her skills would mean being confined to Devil’s Isle. Unfortunately, hiding her power has left her untrained and unfocused.

Liam Quinn knows from experience that magic makes monsters of the weak, and he has no time for a Sensitive with no control of her own strength. But when he sees Claire using her powers to save a human under attack—in full view of the French Quarter—Liam decides to bring her to Devil’s Isle and the teacher she needs, even though getting her out of his way isn’t the same as keeping her out of his head.

But when the Veil threatens to shatter completely, Claire and Liam must work together to stop it, or else New Orleans will burn . . .

Review:
It's been seven years since the Veil between the worlds was opened and New Orleans was nearly destroyed by a war with the supernatural creatures that came through before the it was resealed. Now life is very different, the supernatural creatures who were left behind have all been confined to a walled community known as Devil's Isle to protect the humans who remain but food and resources are scarce and it's like living in a war zone. Magic is forbidden and the few humans who can wield it, known as Sensitives, are exiled to Devil's Isle if they are caught. Claire Connolly is just trying to keep her head down and survive, she took over the running of her family's store after the death of her father and all she wants to do is live in peace. She works hard in her shop and does her best to provide her local community with everything they need. Unfortunately Claire has a secret, one that could get her sent to Devil's Isle if she is caught. Several months ago Claire discovered she was a Sensitive but she is too scared to practise using her abilities in case someone finds out what she is. Liam Quinn knows the price of not using magic and he sees it has his responsibility to make sure Sensitives don't step off the straight and narrow. When Claire is forced to use her ability to protect herself in public Liam agrees to keep her secret but there is a price she must pay for his silence.

I love Chloe Neill's Chicagoland Vampires series so of course I was incredibly excited to find out about her brand new series. I had high expectations for The Veil and although it is completely different to her other series I found myself just as hooked. Claire is such a fantastic heroine, she has a lot of power but she hasn't had much of an opportunity to use it so she really has no idea quite what she is capable of. She's smart, loyal and caring, the kind of woman who goes out of her way to help others even when it costs her. Claire isn't afraid to make difficult choices and she has learnt to trust her instincts and go with her gut.

I loved her little group of friends and the way they all looked out for each other but I have to admit that Liam pretty much stole the show from the moment he stepped onto the page. He is still quite a mystery, it's obvious he is keeping secrets and I'm sure we've got some exciting revelations to come about his character, but he is honourable and very protective. I love the fact that even though he had good reasons to mistrust all supernaturals he doesn't have a bias against them, in fact he is the one to show Claire just how wrong some of her assumptions are. There is definitely a huge amount of potential for them as a couple but I'm glad that the author hasn't rushed into anything, they are slowly becoming friends and learning to trust each other but neither of them is quite willing to jump into things without thinking through the consequences.

As with any first book in a series there is a lot to learn about this new world but I never felt overwhelmed or bored by the information we were given. Chloe Neill has created a richly detailed setting that was very easy to picture and there is definitely a lot of scope for where future books in the series could take us. We get some great character development in this instalment and there was enough action and intrigue to keep me turning the pages as fast as I could to find out what would happen next. This series has definitely been added to my auto-buy list and I can't wait to find out what happens next for Claire and Liam.

Source: Received from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

Other Reviews:
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.